Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett is overseas this week banging the drum for Tulsa’s aviation industry.
His first stop is near London for one of the world’s biggest air shows.
"What's interesting is there's a very, very large number of companies that manufacture and sell and operate drones, and that's a real, real up-and-coming business that we've been trying to get interest in coming to Tulsa," Bartlett said. "I think that that'll come and bear fruit here, one of these days."
Bartlett said American cities have been held out of the drone market while the Federal Aviation Administration came up with regulations.
Thursday, he’ll meet with representatives of German-based airline Lufthansa. The company’s maintenance and repair division is headquartered at Tulsa International Airport, but some operations have been in limbo after Lufthansa stopped buying certain parts from China.
Bartlett is hopeful the company has found a new business avenue.
"And if they have, I'm very confident that, that business will return to Tulsa and continue to employ a lot of people," Bartlett said.
Bartlett has made a few overseas trips to promote Tulsa’s aviation industry capabilities while in the mayor’s office. He said aviation is one of the most important pieces of Tulsa’s future.
"It employs so many people, it pays a lot of money and it's the type of job that lasts a lifetime, literally," Bartlett said.
He said the Tulsa Regional Chamber plans to continue similar efforts to attract aviation industry business.
